Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

A distinctive
feature of social and
cultural life at CMC

 

The Pursuit of Happiness and America at 250

Wed, October 28, 2026
Dinner Program
Jeffrey Rosen

For America 250, bestselling author and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen, explores the principles at the core of the American Idea. In his book, The Pursuit of Happiness, he shows how the Founders embraced the classical definition of happiness as being good rather than feeling good, the pursuit of long term virtue rather than short term pleasure. In The Pursuit of Liberty, Rosen shows how the clashing visions of Hamilton and Jefferson balance liberty and power in a debate that continues to define—and divide—our country: Jefferson championed states’ rights and individual liberties, while Hamilton pushed for a strong Federal government and a powerful executive. Drawing on both books, Rosen will explore how Americans of different perspectives have continued to embrace the core principles of the American Idea – liberty, equality, government by consent, and the pursuit of happiness – even as they have disagreed about how to balance those principles throughout American history.
 

Jeffrey Rosen is the CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He was previously the legal affairs editor of The New Republic and a staff writer for the New Yorker. 

Rosen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Pursuit of Happiness and Conversations with RBG. His new book is The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America

Rosen is a graduate of Harvard College; Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar; and Yale Law School. He is an elected member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Law Institute. In 2024, the French government recognized him as a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Jeffrey Rosen's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Open Academy and The Kravis Lab for Civic Leadership, both at CMC.

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Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

Claremont McKenna College
385 E. Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711

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